2 Elyria men wielding guns made customers stand against the wall

ELYRIA -- Two men wielding guns, one possibly an AK-47, made the customers stand against the wall when they robbed the Big Hit Sweepstakes Cafe, 803 Chestnut Commons Drive, about 11 a.m., yesterday, said Elyria police Capt. Chris Costantino.

"We received the call shortly after 11," Costantino said. "We responded as fast as possible."

"We were told by witnesses that one of the men had a handgun and the other had a long gun that closely resembled an AK-47," Costantino said.

Advertisement

After getting the customers to stand against the wall, the suspects went behind the cash register and had the manager give them an undisclosed amount of money.

"No one was hurt," Costantino said. "That is a good thing. The suspects did not take anything for any of the customers and hurt none of them."

Costantino said that when police got to the Internet cafe the two men were already gone.

"We aren't sure where they went or how they left," Costantino said. "We don't know if they had a vehicle or if they left on foot."

The descriptions of the men were vague, according Costantino.

"They were said to both be wearing grey sweatpants and grey hooded sweatshirts," Costantino said.

As officers searched for the suspects, an Elyria police detective ran his police cruiser into a guardrail when he lost control of the cruiser on SR 57 near Taylor Street. The officer was not injured and his cruiser had moderate damage to the front end.

Officers are continuing to gather information on the robbery, Costantino said.

"We are having detectives interview witnesses and gather as much information as they can," Costantino said.

Costantino is encouraging anyone who has any information about the robbery to contact the Elyria police.

"The biggest thing I can ask is that people report anything they saw," Costantino said. "Even if they think that it may not be important or related, they should report it. You never know what may help."

Costantino said that reporting anything suspicious or even people in the area around the time could be useful.

"If we can find out things that were out of the ordinary or find people that may have seen something, it can only help in our investigation," Costantino said.